Acts 16:17

"The same following after Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation"These men are servants of the Most High God" In like manner those demon-possessed often cried out after Jesus (Luke 8:28; Mark 1:34; Mark 3:11). "The way of salvation" According to Robertson, this expression should be rendered "a way of salvation" (no article) (p. 255). If this is the case, then the demon in the girl was trying to confuse the issue and not clarify it. One of the doctrines of the devil is that Christianity is only "a" way of salvation, no better or no worse than others. In contrast, the Bible claims that it is the only way (Acts 4:12).

From the following evidence it appears that this girl was demon-possessed: 1. It was something that Paul could cast out and stop in her (Acts 16:18-19). Hence she was not soothsaying by some natural talent or learned skill. 2. She was not doing this for her own gain (Acts 16:16). Whether this demon-possessed girl could really tell the future or not is an interesting question. The demon knew the true mission of Paul, Silas, Luke and Timothy, but again, any human being could of known the same thing, if they had simply listened to the preaching and observed the miracles. She brought her masters huge profits, but the same was true concerning many other fakes, including the oracle at Delphi. We do not really know how this fortune-telling operation was conducted. We know that she cried out after Paul, but is this the way that she always gave the fortunes? Or did her master's interpret her frenzied actions--as was the case in Delphi? The terminology that Luke attaches to this case is the same terminology attached to trickery and fakes.. think most would concede that the oracle at Delphi was. fake. If this woman really could tell fortunes, it would appear that someone more influential would have purchased her. Hence, for the moment these considerations lead me to conclude that two shrewd and underhanded men, had bought. demon-possessed girl, and had convinced the community that her strange condition, words and actions were proof that someone like Apollo spoke through her and could foretell their future.